The Silver War: Attack on the Kingdom of Thunder
by Mistress Jakira
Summary: Rated PG for a few jokes implying sex, nothing serious. This is an SM fic set in the Silver Millennium on Jupiter. It does include some characters and the armor concept from Yoroiden Samurai Troopers, but the YST plot is omitted. Japanese names are used.
1. Red Alert at the Palace of Thunder

The Silver War  
  
Attack on the Kingdom of Thunder  
  
It was early in Jovian fall, and the planet's famous electrical storms were growing fewer and further between as the days wore on. On this cool day, the princess of Jupiter, young Makoto Kino, was with her best friend, Princess Minako of Venus, inside the flowery, fortressed walls of Castle Io. It was almost tropical on this moon of Jupiter most of the time, but this day was very temperate--the weather was absolutely perfect. Makoto and Minako laughed together over a small table outside, sipping tea.  
  
"So how was Ganymede last night, eh, Makoto?" grinned Minako mischievously, squinting an eye. Makoto flushed with embarrassment. The chilly, nearly deserted moon Ganymede was where the finest Jovian lookout soldiers were stationed--and also where Makoto often ran away with her handsome knight-protector Seiji to play. The two young lovers had spent last night there in Makoto's miniature castle together in celebration of his 'promotion' to head commander of the Jovian army. And although she knew nothing 'went on' there, Minako loved to tease Makoto relentlessly about it. "You're lucky, you know," Minako teased, "Planet Venus has no moons, so my parents can always find me and Touma, we can't do anything bad!" She laughed as Makoto's face flamed.  
  
"Minako, we don't do anything immoral, you sick little girl!" Makoto insisted with a certain level of disgust in her tone. "Do you and Touma ever think about something like that??" She shot back. Minako's eyes widened.  
  
"Most certainly not!!" She replied incredulously. Then she laughed joyfully. "Oh come on, now, Makoto, this is silly. We both know each other to be totally innocent, so let's stop making each other mad about it, shall we?" Makoto smiled and nodded her agreement. Just then, a call came from the mainland. It was Makoto's mother, Queen Lita of Jupiter.  
  
"Makoto, you must come quickly!" she said. Makoto was puzzled.  
  
"But...why, Mother?"  
  
"Just come!" she commanded, but not harshly. "And I think Princess Minako ought to leave for Venus now." The Queen's tone was quiet and sinister, and Makoto worried--this was completely unlike her mother.  
  
"Um, all right, Mother..." she hung up. "Minako-chan, I think you had better go now. This sounds important. Oh, I hope Seiji is all right..." Makoto worried, as Minako started slowly toward the instant transportation chamber.  
  
"He's probably just tired from all the screaming," Minako chimed in with a grin of hilarity. She laughed hysterically as Makoto shoved her rather violently into the chamber.  
  
"Oh, get out of here, you perverted witch!" Makoto said, though she was chuckling softly, too.  
  
"Bye, Mako-chan! I hope everything is all right!" Minako called, still giggling, just before she left.  
  
"You, too! Bye!" Makoto replied with a smile and a wave. As soon as Minako was safely home on Venus, Makoto hopped inside and teleported to her house on the Jovian mainland.  
  
When Makoto arrived at the house in which she usually lived, she found a note tacked up beside the transportation unit. "We're at the palace, Makoto, hurry," it said shortly. Makoto's face paled a little. Her parents had always made her live in a house like a normal child instead of royalty, so she didn't get spoiled (despite that the 'house' was a luxurious mansion). They never went to the palace, with or without her, unless there was some kind of military emergency. Makoto rushed back into the chamber and arrived at the palace in seconds.  
  
"Makoto!" She heard her mother's voice calling her, and saw her as she hurried near. Makoto gave the Queen a fearful look of inquiry. "Oh, Makoto, it's terrible," she sobbed, "Queen Beryl is launching an attack on the Kingdom!" Makoto gasped.  
  
"I knew this would happen, that witch! Are we going to be all right, can I help?" She searched the Queen's face frantically for some type of sign.  
  
"No, Makoto, we're not going to be all right, and you can not help this. Even you can't withstand Beryl's attacks this time, she's too strong, and she has our army outnumbered by thousands!" The Queen was in tears now, realizing what was about to happen. "Our Kingdom will fall, Makoto...and I know it's hard to take in, but so will I, and your father as well. We must stay to control the Kingdom, to keep our soldiers under control, but in reality we can do nothing--we are powerless. Our army will try to hold them off for as long as possible so that we can warn the Moon and the planets before us to gather their armies and prepare for a battle against hundreds of thousands of soldiers...but Makoto, I want you to go to the Moon. It is safest there with our empress, Queen Serenity, and the Ginzuishou. You must save yourself, you are the only way through which anyone or anything about our Kingdom can survive."  
  
"No, Mother, no!" Makoto said. "We can't give up!"  
  
"We won't, my daughter...however, the situation is all but impossible. Run away, as fast as you can, before Beryl can find you." Tears ran down Makoto's face.  
  
"No! Where is my Seiji?" Makoto cried out.  
  
"He's outside the palace directing the armies. He has only been named the supreme commander two days ago, but our only hope is that he will come through as able in this situation as we know him to be." The Queen replied.  
  
"Oh, Lord! When is he returning to the palace!?" The little princess was in hysterics now. She feared insanely for the life of the man she loved, and her mother's response did nothing to calm her nerves.  
  
"Makoto, we don't know when--or if--he'll be back," she said quietly. Makoto's tears thickened.  
  
"I have to go," she told her mother. "I can't leave him out there when I know his life is in danger."  
  
"No, Makoto, no! Please!" Queen Lita cried, suddenly embracing her daughter tightly. "You must go to the Moon. Seiji is a warrior, your protector, and commander of our planet's armies. It is his duty to risk his life for us, but as the princess it is your job to do just the opposite. You must stay alive. He told me to let you know that he loves you, and he wishes you to be safe--he, too, wants you to go to the Moon, where you may be saved by our empire's strongest defenses. Makoto, please. You must..." She started to cry now, and Makoto hugged her close, although her tears ran freely as well.  
  
"I'm sorry, Mother..." she whispered into her mother's ear, gently lifting her up and escaping her hold. "I'm sorry." With that, she ran as fast as her legs could carry her in the long gown she wore. "I love you, Mother! Tell Father the same!" She called back, in tears. She would miss them so...but she had to find Seiji. She must be with him, even if she fell at the hands of Beryl. Makoto didn't see as her mother dropped to her knees sobbing, knowing that she would never see her beloved daughter again.  
  
Makoto ran out of the palace to find Seiji. Where could he be? she asked herself silently. She ran toward the defense base between the castle palisades, where soldiers were gathered up in the darkness. Lightning crackled overhead and thunder crashed through the sky with a great roar. In a bright flash of light, she saw him--clad in a royal Jovian green suit of armor and holding in his hand a great sword of the finest metal alloys, Seiji stood atop a tower, shouting orders to thousands of Jovian troops lined along the fortified walls of the palace. Makoto saw that more and more soldiers were arriving by the second, dispatched from every station to gather at this place, and her Seiji was commanding them all. She felt so nervous for him as she saw him climb down dutifully from the tower into a small building, and the rain began to pound down.  
  
Harder and harder the rain came down in the darkness that had enshrouded the entire planet. Makoto could barely see or hear anything now, but she heard the wind whip even harder as her dress and hair flapped, slapping her legs and face painfully, and she saw as a great shadow rose over all as the lightning struck once again. It was a monstrous, evil shadow from the dark reaches of Beryl's kingdom, she knew. Her eyes went wide, and she raised the henshin wand she had taken even before she left Castle Io.  
  
"Great Thunderstorms of Jupiter, lend me thy strength!" Makoto shouted to the storm. "I am thy descendant, thy mortal incarnation, thy Princess--I command thee, my Lightning, my Thunder, my Earth, my Spirit! Bestow upon me thy undying power, let the Lord's will guide thine!" Her transformation was complete in just moments, and she ran to Seiji as fast as her boots could carry her in the rain, using her elemental power to aid her in speed. She felt bare without any armor, but was happy that it wasn't weighing her down. Her golden tiara, studded with an enchanted emerald, felt cold against her forehead as the rain splashed her trembling body, but strangely she didn't feel wet. Much to her surprise, she wasn't when she reached the tower.  
  
There were deeply concerned and frightened guards at the small and informal gates, but they did not dare dispute who she was and what was her authority, though they knew she should be on the Moon as their commander and their Queen had both told them. They would not interfere, however--of this Makoto was certain even before they silently opened the gates. She looked around for Seiji, and her eyes found him rather quickly. He had gotten inside before the rain started up, and so his face was only damp, with nervous sweat undoubtedly, and his hair was almost untouched. He looked deathly pale and scared already, even though Beryl's army had not yet reached the palace.  
  
"Seiji!" Makoto called to him. He snapped out of his horrified trance and rushed to her. His arms were around her immediately, and Makoto hugged him to her.  
  
"Makoto! Oh, Makoto..." He was almost crying. "Oh, God, Makoto, didn't the Queen tell you? You must get to the Moon Kingdom, where you'll be safe!" Makoto ran her fingers through his hair, moving the part that obscured her vision of his right eye. She stared into both of his beautiful violet eyes to answer him.  
  
"Yes, Seiji, but I couldn't leave you!" She cried, clutching at his arms. "What if I never saw you again, Seiji? I couldn't bear it! I'll sooner kiss Beryl's feet than leave you alone to die!" Seiji's expression became tender and his voice quiet.  
  
"I am the commander. I have to do this; it's my duty to the kingdom."  
  
"I won't let you!" Makoto raged, crying helplessly, pounding her fists against the chestplate of Seiji's armor, then sliding her hand down it despairingly. The thunder gave another violent crash as she yelled, and Seiji tried his best to comfort her, though he knew there was no hope. The Kingdom would fall, and he would die--with or without his princess. A tear fell from his eye as Makoto's soft brown hair brushed his face, and already he knew the pain he would encounter. Makoto was far too stubborn. She would never go back to the Moon Kingdom without him, she would stay here with him until the very end. He knew.  
  
He only hoped he would be the one to die first. 


	2. The Assault

The Silver War   
Attack on the Kingdom of Thunder   
Part Two

Thunder rumbled ominously in the night sky as Beryl's dark army approached the Palace of Jupiter. Its presence was unmistakable to the hundreds of thousands of soldiers gathered at what would undoubtedly be the site of the battle. The rain was subsiding, and an evil hiss could now be heard splitting the heavens as Beryl's shadow demon marched closer and closer with her massive army. As Seiji and Princess Makoto watched from the top of the sharp-roofed tower, they could see the evil Queen descending upon the castle. A wicked laugh could be heard echoing throughout the kingdom, peal after peal reverberating off each particle of the Jovian atmosphere.   
"Holy mother of God!" Makoto heard someone holler. Even these soldiers--Jovian soldiers, the bravest and most powerful throughout the galaxy and beyond--were frightened by the awful sight of Queen Beryl's minions storming the palace. Each warrior drew his sword and a deep breath, preparing himself for the worst massacre imaginable. Seiji unsheathed his own powerful sword, letting the power of his Korin Armor flow through it.   
"Soldiers!" He shouted authoritatively to his army of frightened swordsmen. "Wait for their assault! Be ready for their attack, and fight at your best! This is it, the battle that will determine the fate of the Kingdom of Jupiter!" He lied. Makoto knew he lied; this battle could not determine the Kingdom's fate. The Kingdom would fall, no matter what anyone did to prevent it. The Imperial Princess knew it, but she did not want to believe it. She convinced herself that what Seiji was giving his troops was inspiration--not blind faith.   
Meanwhile, the army waited for Beryl's attack. Time seemed to stop as the force approached, followed by a black shadow that enveloped the sky, a creature with huge red eyes. Beside this demon was Queen Beryl herself, the eternal nemesis of the beloved Silver Queen Serenity. More laughing was heard as the enigma approached, striking fear into the hearts of all good men on the field. Amidst all the sloth and suspense, a sudden burst of movement occurred, and all at once Beryl's troops were upon them. Great war cries were heard as the battle broke out, and blood was shed mercilessly as the threatening storm rolled on even stronger.   
Seiji's face took on a hard look, and he jumped down inside the tower with Makoto. "I have to help my men," he declared firmly, taking up his helmet. Makoto once again held his arm.   
"Seiji, you can't just jump into that battle!" She said. She was tempted to beg him to stay, but decided quickly that the practical and intellectual approach was more effective. "Seiji," she began slowly, "you are the commander, you can't throw yourself out there to die! Your men need you to lead them, as well. If you must fight, try another way. It will weaken them much more than killing a few dozen men before someone shoves a sword through your back!" Seiji nodded as the pair started outside to aid the Jovian military. Seiji put on his helmet, looking at Makoto through his visor.   
"You're right, Makoto," he conceded. "I'll find their commanders and take them out. But this doesn't change anything! You still must go to safety with Queen Serenity and her court! Take Minako with you, take Princess Rei of Mars, and Princess Ami of Mercury! Whatever you do, just go!" His eyes began to quiver and his expression became soft and pained as he gave one last attempt at convincing the princess to leave. "Please." His voice was gentle and quiet.   
"No, Seiji, no!" Makoto protested passionately, tugging his arm. "I am from the noble royal family of the mighty Planet Jupiter. I never give up, and I never run away from a battle, this one included! I will follow you to the ends of the universe if I must, and no matter what, I will fight alongside you." Seiji did not heed her powerful words.   
"Beryl will look for you. You're the first one she will want to kill, Makoto, you know that. Your parents could already be...you have to hurry, before she finds-" Seiji stared into Makoto's eyes and squeezed her hands tightly in his own, but before he could finish his argument, a great, cold wind overtook him and his strong-willed princess. Their eyes turned in fear to what they knew was certain disaster. The wind intensified, turning quickly into hurricane gusts, and Seiji took Makoto up in his arms, shielding her, and holding her slender frame to the ground. The tower in which they stood was not sturdy enough to withstand the robust winds that Beryl's forces were no doubt bombarding it with. It creaked repeatedly, and at last gave one final groan before toppling to the earth below.   
"Agh...Makoto!" He yelled her name, closing his arms tightly around her and jumping clear of the tower's collapse. Dust flew, blinding both Seiji and Makoto temporarily. "Are you all right?" Seiji asked shortly, letting Makoto free from his hold. She nodded, then searched about warily, vainly attempting to find the source of that unexpected burst. When the debris from the tower's collapse cleared out of the air some seconds after, she and Seiji found themselves alongside one another, facing the floating figure of a woman with long, pinched red hair. Her face was chalk-white, if not tinted slightly blue, and her features were sharp--her snakelike eyes, witch's nose, sinister grin of victory, and the fangs of a vampire. She held in her hand a tall sceptre on which was mounted a softball-sized orb that revealed a swirl of blue-green clouds. A dark power was emanating from that orb, both Makoto and Seiji could feel it. Her laughter split the air like the call of a raven, and the royal couple could not be more certain that this was, in fact, the evil Queen Beryl.   
"Ah, so you must be Princess Makoto of Jupiter," Beryl hissed. "You do realize the losses your kingdom has caused for me and my own kingdom of darkness? But of course. You'll be such a pleasure to eradicate."   
"Leave her alone, she has done nothing to you!" Seiji snapped angrily, putting a protective arm over Makoto. "Take me, Queen Beryl, it was my fault. It was I who commanded the Jovian armies to attack your forces. I repent, I will surrender, but only if you agree to spare the life of the Princess!" He lied once more. Seiji had been in full command of the armies for no more than two days! There was no way he could've launched any attack on Beryl. Neither he nor Makoto knew whether Beryl was aware of that fact, but--one way or the other--it didn't matter at all. The shadow demon rose to loom behind Beryl's long-legged, navy blue-gowned figure, and Seiji winced and fell back a step from an invisible blow that seemed to have struck his face.   
"I'll do nothing of the sort!" Beryl said matter-of-factly. She reached out her bony hand toward Seiji, extending her sharp-nailed fingers painted the same blue as her dress, preparing to unleash some kind of magical attack. Seiji bared his teeth, gritting them in anticipation, and gathered up Makoto behind him. He pulled out his sword, and it gleamed in the lightning as he swung it at Beryl. She flew back and pointed just one of her fingers down at the ground, then moved it swiftly up toward Seiji. The ground split open, creating a great chasm where Beryl had pointed, and it grew as it moved quickly toward the brave knight and princess. Seiji took Makoto and jumped away.   
"I don't think so, Beryl!" He challenged. He held up his sword in front of his face and shut his eyes tightly. "Rai Kou Zan!" With a yell, Seiji snapped open his eyes. He swung his sword down in a swift, fluid motion toward the ground, and from it jumped a multicolored fireball that shot toward Beryl, shocking her like lightning. Her dress was singed, and she shook her head to find that her hair had begun to spring up; Makoto couldn't help but laugh. Beryl rubbed her shoulder, where she had been burned by the electric fire of Seiji's attack, and scowled.   
"I'll not be humiliated by little royal twits! You'll pay for that!" Beryl shouted. She let out a cry and the orb at her side began to glow with a blinding blue light. A serpentine hiss sliced the threads of space and the great shadow demon rose up behind Beryl, its red eyes intense in their gaze, which was fixed upon Seiji and Makoto. They were blown backward once more, but this time Makoto was the first to stand up and retaliate.   
"Supreme!..." Beryl smirked as a black cloud overhead and lightning began to gather before Makoto. She curled her body, preparing to release the powerful electric energy at the shadow beast in front of her. "Thunder!" Makoto shouted this last word and thrust out her arms, throwing the lightning toward the massive monster. Her gaze was hard as she watched it fly, so quickly that it reached its target in a matter of milliseconds. Makoto gasped, breaking out in an icy sweat as she saw--there had been no effect! The electricity from her attack had been absorbed into the demon. Beryl's laugh seemed distant as Makoto stared in fear at the dark shadow blocking out the sky.   
"You thought you could overpower my shadow?" Beryl asked primly. Makoto gave a growl and blinked back her tears of frustration. To this Beryl laughed once more, a malevolent giggle that made the princess shiver. Another growl was heard, this one deeper and more an infuriated roar than a growl at all, as Seiji once again stepped up beside Makoto. She noticed that his helmet was gone now, possibly knocked off by the impact somehow, and his anger had deepened even more, not into hatred--he was too much of an angel for that, Makoto was sure--but into a fierce need to protect. He raised his sword, pointing its tip at Beryl.   
"You!" he accused, "This is all your doing! Leave us alone, this is the last time I warn you before I destroy you!" As much as she felt they should have given her confidence, Seiji's words only intensified the fear in Makoto's heart. She knew he was getting discouraged, she knew he was beginning to feel the mad angst of all his efforts being futile. Beryl only let out another insane shriek of laughter.   
"You? destroy me? That's certainly quite funny, but I think you're taking this knight-in-shining-armor game too far, wouldn't you say?" she asked, antagonizing him. Makoto saw him look Beryl up and down, searching, searching...he smiled maliciously as his eyes fixed on the smoky orb at her side. "Come on, just give up now, save yourself the pain, Seiji, you could work with me, rule the universe with me--all that power, Seiji, isn't it tempting?" Beryl taunted him. She was disappointed to find that it had no effect on him; he didn't want any of it, it seemed. Seiji knew that it didn't matter anymore. Power was no issue to him, the only thing he had left was Makoto, and he would lose her one way or another--by declining, he would lose her life; by accepting, he would lose her love. She and her royal family were done for, of this he was sure; but he would go down fighting for it.   
The lightning flashed in Seiji's dark, violet eyes, and without a second thought he charged at Beryl. Tears stained his face, but he ignored them, roaring and thrusting his sword at Beryl. He swung it in a large arc as the evil queen tried to escape the scythe; it narrowly missed her pallid face. Her eyes shot open at the sight of dark crimson blood running down her arm, and her staff fell to the earth below. She and Seiji both lunged for it; Seiji was quicker, but Beryl held out her bony fingers once more. Seiji was tossed violently backward toward where Makoto stood agape. He crashed to the grass and dirt on his back, a small fountain of blood spurting from his mouth.   
"Seiji!" Makoto dropped to her knees beside Seiji, all the while touching her finger to her tiara, ready to murder Beryl with a massive Jovian storm at the slightest movement. The knight lying beside her was badly injured, she knew; but he could still make it through alive if she finished this now. She stood and was about to try when Beryl's orb glowed once more, springing the gargantuan shadow into action.   
Makoto watched in awe and horror as a mirror image of herself appeared in front of the shadow, performing the attack she had just attempted to destroy it with. Makoto was startled at this projection of herself, but even more surprised to find black lightning emerge from the hands of her 'clone.' Makoto ducked out of the way, but she found that the streak of lightning was not aimed for her, but Seiji, who lay almost paralyzed and in pain beside her. He had no way to escape it, and Makoto could never hope to be fast enough to save him.   
The bolt of darkness had a shocking electrocution effect on Seiji, and he struggled with it as it engulfed his entire body, making him radiate the blackness. He hollered and gave quivering growls of pain, but, encased in that field of energy, Makoto could not get to him. She could only watch as something invisible cut and broke Seiji's armor at the shoulder, putting a deep slash dangerously near his neck. Makoto screamed and let out another burst of energy, which zapped away the fake projection of Sailor Jupiter and subsequently put another burn in Beryl's hand. Her staff did not drop out of her hand this time, but she switched it to her left hand and tended to the one that had been electrocuted, her attention focusing on something other than the orb. In response to this, the orb dimmed and the shadow demon seemed to be put into a strange, docile sleep that would remain unbroken until the orb's power was once again activated. The effects of the black lightning ceased and subsided as the monster became inactive, leaving Seiji burned and broken on the ground in unimaginable pain.   
"Seiji, no!" The reality of the situation had finally broken through to Makoto, and she once again dropped next to Seiji, his eyes full of pain and his heart beating wildly. His soft blonde hair had become tattered, and his already light skin had taken on a deathly pallor. The shock of dark energy had nearly killed him in its last moments of existence--the right arm of his green-plated armor had been torn off, as well as the chain mail beneath it, leaving a deep slash that slowly poured a river of red down his arm. His bones were most likely broken in several places from the fall alone, even before the magical attack, and yet he still lifted himself up on his elbows to talk to Makoto.   
"Makoto, it's time to stop playing games," he told her, his voice cracking from pain and injury. She took his hand and shut her eyes tightly, denying with all her soul that this was the end. "You must listen to me now, Makoto. Leave me. I know it's hard for you, I know it is, it's just as hard for me. But I'm on the verge of death, Makoto, I'm not going to make it. It may be too late to leave, but you can still fight without me. You mustn't tend to me, or to my wounds, Makoto..." Seiji let out a strained cry, and his breaths began coming more heavily. The pool of blood beside him was growing larger, and his hands were growing colder as she held them in her own. Makoto could help it no longer--she cried for all she was worth. "I love you, Makoto," he told her. "Remember that always." His breaths were fainter now, and his pulse had slowed almost to a stop. He tried to keep himself up, but he fell back to the ground each time.   
"No! Oh, please, Seiji, hang on!" Makoto screamed, knowing that he couldn't, but praying all the same that he would find a way. "You can't..."   
"Defeat Beryl, Makoto, destroy her..." Almost inaudibly, Seiji issued his last command. Makoto heard him, but she did not listen--she could only cry. Seiji's grip on her hand loosened--still he held it, but the pressure was fading. Makoto knew that this was the end; she could taste his blood on her lips as she kissed him once more. The moment she pulled away, Seiji's hand dropped to the ground. This was it. Makoto turned her head to the sky, and a great bolt of lightning streaked across the clouds as she shrieked in angst.   
Makoto turned her head back down, shedding just a few more tears before at last standing up to face Queen Beryl, who was laughing with delight. She turned to look upon the battlefield where countless Jovian soldiers already had died, her green eyes emotionless now. She called upon her powers, and used them to shoot electricity through a good portion of Beryl's legions, leaving each victim dead or paralyzed. She realized that she had felled more than just a few of her own soldiers in the process--no, Seiji's soldiers, they were Seiji's men! She didn't care if they died. She didn't care for them at all. Why shouldn't they die? Seiji had died...Seiji, who had meant everything to her. He had perished, he had fallen at the hands of Beryl. If he couldn't withstand her strength, than neither could she, neither could they, so how could it matter how many she killed?   
Makoto turned around, fixing her blank, empty eyes on Beryl. The evil queen smiled malevolently at Makoto's sudden act of terror and violence. That smile widened to a malicious grin as Makoto's shoulders slumped, her entire body suddenly slouched, and she raised her arms in surrender.   
"Take me, Beryl," she said, her voice cold and calm, somehow devoid of all anger and hatred. "Take me!" She cried. All at once her sorrow resurfaced in her, and her tears rolled down again, even harder than they had before. "Kill me, Beryl, I can take this no longer, I can't fight you! I can't win!" Beryl's smirk became more superior, and she raised her staff for the crushing blow, either to strike Makoto or to call upon the shadow creature to destroy her no one can know. The last thing Makoto saw was the staff, the orb atop it glowing with a demonic light. The staff, and then... 

The marble floor of Silver Queen Serenity's grand palace, blindingly white. Makoto lifted her head to see the elegant empress standing over her with the Crescent Moon Wand. Resting inside the Wand, Makoto saw the beautiful crown jewel of the Moon children, the small but powerful Ginzuishou, shining with a crystalline light that almost matched the brilliant sparkle in Seiji's eyes. 


End file.
